Le Graet, 73, is respected among the players and once they realised that there was a momentum behind the decision to play then they recognised they could not resist. This will be a great moment of solidarity.
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“The last three days were a bit dramatic and I think we were in mourning all together”.
“It will be an opportunity for us to show character and share this moment with all the English people”.
On Friday, a match between Germany and France was interrupted at the Stade de France when terrorists detonated explosive vests just outside the stadium as part of the synchronized attacks on Paris. Three bombers, and a bystander, died in the blasts outside the stadium, and the French and German teams spent the night inside the venue.
On Saturday the France coach told his players they could withdraw from the squad if they felt they were not up to playing in London, but none of them have done so.
Several French players are understood to have made the trip despite feeling they should be with their families. Like all my team-mates, we respect his decision.
“We weren’t cut off from the world. Of course we would have liked to have seen our nearest and dearest, but time went very quickly”. “Now here we are”. Lloris referred to the group gatherings during which the players attempted to process the tragic events of Friday night. Instead, he suggested November 13 – the day of the killings – will go down as a moment that brought the squad and the country together.
“We are here to represent our country, our handsome colours of red, white and blue, with even more pride than before”, he said. “I think Diarra with his message put it superbly, sport has no colour. sport has no religion”. “It needs to continue doing that”.
England fans are also being urged to support the French people by singing France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise, before the game and Lloris has admitted such a show of solidarity from the English people has touched him and his compatriots. “He’s been very strong, and we’ve all learnt the values of unity and solidarity”.
“This game is a good opportunity to represent the French nation”.
Reason for concern Shawn James, a Guyanese-American who played at Duquense and Northeastern, did not travel with his Spanish club to play a game Tuesday in Nanterre, France, which is west of Paris.
“The training sessions may not have been the most heavy, but we’ve worked hard, trained as you would, and now the time has come to focus on the match tomorrow night and approach it with the upmost sobriety and dignity as we should”.
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“The main thing is we shared this grief, tried to be professional, focused on work and rid ourselves of the stress”.
